


Bio-chemistry

by ssa_archivist



Category: Smallville
Genre: First Time, Futurefic, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-05-13
Updated: 2005-05-13
Packaged: 2017-11-01 08:47:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/354570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssa_archivist/pseuds/ssa_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stupid decisions at university and lecturers behaving inappropriately can have surprising consequences.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bio-chemistry

## Bio-chemistry

by Tabbyshhh

[]()

* * *

"It's not that easy, Lex!" Clark protested loudly as Lex sighed once more. 

"Why did you take bio-chemistry if you find it so difficult?" Lex asked, handing Clark his textbook. "It's not the best way to ensure good grades." 

"I wanted a challenge, and I knew you liked it." Clark replied, blushing a little and pretending to leaf through the pages. 

"You took this course because I enjoyed it?" Lex asked, looking bemused. For a self-professed genius he could be incredible dense sometimes, Clark thought. 

"I took it because it was a challenge and because you liked it." Clark replied. "Because then we could go on the field trips together and stuff." Clark blushed a little more and raised the book to hide his face. 

"Let me get this straight." Lex was smiling a little now. "You took a course that you had no interest in so that you could spend more time with me? Clark, if you felt I was neglecting our friendship you could have just said so." 

"You've been busy with your take over of Luthorcorp since your dad died. I didn't want to get in your way without a good reason." Clarks blush reached levels Lex hadn't seen since his first years in Smallville. Clark had seemed to grow out of his habitual blushing when he had grown out of his habitual lying, at least in his friendship with Lex. 

"I thought we agreed no more lies." Lex chided gently, taking the book from Clark's hands so he couldn't hide behind it any longer. 

"I'm not lying!" Clark sat up straight. 

"No, I know. It was more misleading than lying. So tell me, why do you think you have so much trouble with biology and chemistry when math and physics are no problem for you?" 

"I dunno." Clark sulked, lying back on the floor, still sore from the accusation that he had been lying to Lex. "It's the biology bit that I seem to get stuck on. Pure chemistry is fine. I don't see why I had to take a science course when I'm studying English." 

"So that you will emerge from your years at university as a well rounded adult, well adapted and fit for employment." Lex mocked the university's prospectus. 

"I'm not going to achieve that by studying bio-chemistry." Clark rolled from his stomach onto his back and pouted up at the ceiling. "I should have just opted to take advanced calculus and then tested out of it." 

"You can't test out of this?" Lex asked, beginning to feel a little sorry for Clark, although he felt it might be a little good for Clark to struggle at something, as used as he was to things coming naturally to him. 

"I'm barely passing." Clark sighed. "It was a stupid idea." 

"Is there anyway you can get extra credit?" Lex asked. "Other than offering yourself up for experimentation. Discovering Alien life on earth should be enough to gain you at least pass." He teased. 

"Don't even joke about that, Lex! I'd rather fail the course than spend my life as a lab rat in some government facility!" Clark rolled back onto his stomach and shut his textbook with a thud. 

"Why don't you ask your professor if he can give you an extra credit report? If he says yes I'll give you a hand with it. If not we'll just have to work hard on your revision." Lex suggested, offering Clark a hand to help him up from the floor. 

"I'll go and ask him tomorrow." Clark sighed, brushing imaginary dust from his jeans. "You want to shoot some pool?" 

"Why not. We can even go wild and have a drink. An alcoholic one!" Lex laughed. 

"Ohhh, what are we celebrating?" Clark questioned as he followed Lex from the study into the games room. 

"The fact that I've finally discovered something that I'm better at than you." 

* * *

Clark knocked on the door of his biochemistry professor's office and waited nervously to be granted admission. 

"Come in." Clark entered the room slowly, determined not to embarrass himself further by knocking anything over. It was bad enough that he had to admit that he couldn't cope with the course. "Hi, Clark." The young professor greeted him. 

"Hi, Professor Sollards." Clark greeted in return, startled that the professor knew his name. It was a large class and Clark had had little personal contact with the lecturer as postgraduate students tended to take the smaller group seminars. 

"Please, call me Mike. Take a seat." The professor requested, moving a pile of books from a chair so that Clark could sit down and then looking for space in the already cluttered office to put them down in. He eventually settled for balancing them precariously on another pile of books. "Sorry about the mess." 

"That's ok. You should see my dorm room." Clark blurted out. Professor Sollards looked at him salaciously. 

"As much as I would like that, Clark, somehow I don't think my peers at the university would see it as appropriate behaviour." Clark's professor leered a little. Clark couldn't believe it. There was no way his professor was coming on to him, was there? He had to be reading the signs wrong. Mike Sollards was the youngest professor at the university, he was tall and athletic looking, and since when had Clark been checking out guys? Actually, Clark knew that the answer to that was since he was fifteen when he'd pulled Lex out of the river and breathed life back into his still body. 

"Now, what did you come to see me about?" Professor Sollards was hovering in front of Clark before he decided to perch on his desk, which meant that Clark still had to look up to maintain eye contact. 

"Ummm. I'm kind of, ummm." Clark stumbled over his words, still confused by the improper behaviour of his lecturer. He shook himself and imagined Lex's face if he heard the bumbling fool currently inhabiting Clark's body. They'd practiced how he was going to go about this whilst they were playing pool but all Clark's brain could seem to remember was the way Lex looked bent over the pool table. He heard his professor clear his throat and blushed vividly, realising he must have been staring into space. "Sorry. What I meant to say was, I've been having a little trouble with the course, I took it because I knew it would be a challenge but I didn't realise quite how challenging I would find it. My test results haven't been great so I was wondering if there was anything I could do to gain extra credits? Some kind of written project, maybe?" Clark suggested. He really didn't want the professor to suggest that he simply re-sat the exams. 

"I can see why you're concerned about your grades." Professor Sollards agreed, opening up a manila file and looking at what Clark guessed was his test scores. "You're a scholarship student?" He questioned and Clark nodded. "Well, I see no reason why we can't come to some arrangement that would allow you to gain extra credit." `Arrangement'? Clark wasn't altogether sure whether he liked the sound of that. "I have an appointment to get to now, how about we meet up tomorrow for coffee? I'm sure I'll have thought of something by then." 

"Oh, sure." Clark knew a dismissal when he heard one so he stood to leave. 

"One o'clock in the campus coffee bar?" Professor Sollards suggested standing as well. 

"Ok, I'll see you then. Thanks for your time." Clark mumbled as he made his way across the cluttered office to the door. 

"You're very welcome. I'll look forward to seeing you tomorrow." 

"Ok, see you." 

"Bye, Clark." 

Clark shut the office door quickly, the way his professor was eyeing him made him nervous; like he wanted to examine him, but not in the lab rat kind of way that Lex had been joking about in an off hand manner the night before, more in a way that would involve a bed. The rest of the day was uneventful, and Clark was glad when he finally got back to his dorm room. The single room was a gift from Lex that Clark's parents had been only too glad to let him keep, sharing a room with another student just wasn't an option but Clark's scholarship did not cover accommodation and there was no way he could afford a single room without Lex's intervention. 

Clark ordered himself a large pizza and opened his biochemistry textbook while he waited for it to be delivered. Even if he managed to convince the professor to give him an extra credit report, the major part of his grade was going to be based on his tests scores so he couldn't afford to fall behind. Lex always worked late on Thursdays in order to keep some of his weekend free for recreation, in other words so he could spend time with Clark. Clark had promised he'd call to let him know about the meeting with his professor. 

"LeXCorp." Lex's personal assistant always answered the phone in exactly the same tone of voice, one that implied that the reason for the call better be good. 

"Hi, Cheryl." Clark greeted warmly. 

"Hi, Clark, how was your day?" Cheryl melted immediately. Lex was annoyed no end by the fact that Clark had managed to wrap Cheryl around his little finger but Lex hadn't, not yet anyway. 

"It was good thanks. Just lectures and stuff. You been busy?" Clark made small talk, she'd pass him over to Lex soon enough. 

"Not really, Lex has been cooped up in his office all day planning this merger of the public images of LeXCorp and Luthorcorp. He hasn't been taking any calls." Cheryl replied, sounding bored. 

"Oh, ok, well can you just tell him I called when you speak to him." 

"No need, Clark. I'm under strict instructions to put you straight through whenever you call in future." 

"Really?" That was a new development. The preferential treatment Clark received usually only extended to the penthouse, not Lex's offices. 

"Yes. He mentioned something about neglecting his friendship with you and it causing you to make bad decisions. I was worried about his ego being over inflated but then he told me about the bio-chemistry course." Cheryl laughed. "It's an interesting way of getting someone's attention. In my day we just asked them out for coffee." 

"In your day? You're hardly that much older than me and Lex." Clark laughed, but his mind was already flicking back to his professor's invitation for coffee. Professor Sollards and Cheryl were about the same age. 

"Maybe not much older than Lex but I've got a few years on you. I'll put you through now. I hope to see you soon, Clark." 

"Yeah, I'm sure I'll see you at the company picnic if not before." Clark waited for the click that meant that Cheryl as no longer on the line and the slight pause before Lex picked up his extension. 

"Hi, Clark." Lex sounded stressed. 

"Hey, Lex. Busy day?" 

"You wouldn't believe how many calls I've had to make just to make sure that all of the company stationary has the LeXCorp header instead of the Luthorcorp one by Monday." Lex sighed. 

"I probably wouldn't." Clark agreed smiling at Lex's exasperated tone. 

"So, how did the meeting with your professor go?" Lex asked. "Did he agree to give you an extra credit report?" 

"Pretty much." Clark replied, wondering how much he should tell Lex about his meeting with Professor Sollards. He probably hadn't been coming on to him anyway, Clark reasoned, and when he thought about it, a few looks and an off hand comment about a dorm room weren't that much of a big deal. Professor Sollards was straight anyway; Chloe had the biggest crush on him, as did most of the freshman girls and he did nothing to discourage them. 

"Pretty much? What kind of answer is that?" Lex asked and Clark could practically hear the smile in his voice. 

"He said I could have one, but he had to go to an appointment so he's going to think about it tonight and then we're going to meet for coffee on campus tomorrow." Clark answered. There was a long pause from Lex. 

"He invited you out for coffee?" Lex asked, no emotion in his tone. 

"Well, it's more of a meeting really. Just in the coffee shop." Clark answered; Lex was making him feel even more wary of this meeting. 

"What did you say his name was again?" 

"Professor Sollards." 

"Michael Sollards?" Lex asked. 

"Ummm, yeah. Do you know him?" Clark was bemused now. 

"I went to Princeton with him." Lex did not sound happy. 

"No, it can't be the same guy. He's at least 5 years older than you." Clark argued. 

"I was always ahead for my age." Lex retorted. "He always came second in the class." 

"Who was first?" Clark queried. 

"Me." Lex answered matter of factly. "He was doing his masters at the same time as me. He obviously continued after my father took me out of school." 

"Did you get along?" Clark asked. 

"Not really. We had an...unfriendly rivalry." Well, wasn't this just great? Clark sighed inwardly. Lex would have to have a rivalry with the professor for the course that Clark was hopeless at. And there was no way Clark could ask Lex whether he thought the professor had been flirting with him now, Lex would probably kick up a fuss and get the guy fired. Clark would just have to go to the Coffee shop, get his extra credit assignment and then make his excuses to leave. 

"What time are you meeting him?" Lex enquired. 

"One o'clock." Clark replied. 

"Ok, well, call me when you have your assignment and we can work out how to plan it, ok?" Lex suggested. 

"Thanks, Lex. I appreciate it. Good luck with the stationary." Clark laughed. 

"I'm on to the uniforms now." Lex laughed. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Clark." 

"OK, make sure you have some dinner and don't work too late." 

"I promise." 

Clark hung up, the phone call had ended just in time, the pizza delivery boy was beginning to get sick of waiting at the entrance to the dorms for Clark to go down and pay him. Clark flicked through his biochemistry textbook, trying to pick some of the topics he found less difficult in case Professor Sollards wanted him to make some suggestions on what topic he might research. 

* * *

Clark was running late, as usual. It wasn't his fault this time though. Chloe has cornered him to complain about the fact that he never made time for her and he hadn't felt that he could tell her he had to be somewhere. He was only five minutes late so hopefully Professor Sollards had waited. If Lex hadn't made him promise only to use his powers in emergencies, with a strict definition of what constituted an emergency, Clark would have been early. 

He rushed into the coffee shop, waved to a girl from his English class, and scanned the seating area for his professor. He saw him, thankfully, sitting in the back corner, the furthest from the door or the window. 

"Hi, Professor, sorry I'm late." Clark tried to appear as though he was out of breath from rushing to the meeting. 

"That's fine Clark, and please, I told you yesterday, call me Mike." Professor Sollards smiled charmingly. 

"Ok. I'll just have regular latte, please." Cark said as the waitress approached to take his order. "Ummm, did you have a chance to think about an extra credit assignment?" Clark thought if he was going to execute his plan to get away as soon as possible then there was no point hanging around making small talk. 

"I came up with a few ideas." Professor Sollards, `Mike', leered over the top of his coffee cup. Clark was momentarily distracted by the waitress bringing over his coffee and when he turned back to face Mike the look was gone, leaving Clark to wonder if he was just reading to deep into something that wasn't even there. Mike handed Clark a piece of paper with an essay title on. 

"I chose this one because this is the topic area you achieved the lowest test result on. If you complete the report well I'll substitute this for your test mark and hopefully it should pull your average up high enough so you can pass the course. A pass mark is all you need since bio-chemistry isn't exactly an essential part of your degree." Mike explained. It all seemed pretty sensible to Clark and he started to feel embarrassed about jumping to the conclusion that his professor had been hitting on him. What did that say about his ego? 

"Thanks, that's great." The report topic didn't seem too difficult and Clark was sure that with a little guidance from Lex he would be able to achieve a good mark. "I usually do better in written assignments than tests." 

"Most English majors do." Mike smiled at him. "I've included my personal details so if you have any problems you can contact me directly." Clark looked at the paper in front of him and noticed that it included the professors unofficial email address, rather then his teaching one, and his personal cell phone number. "I want you to do well, Clark, really. In fact, I thought we could go somewhere a little quieter to discuss how you're going to go about starting your report. My office isn't exactly ideal, you saw the state of it yourself, and so I thought we could go back to my place." 

"Your place?" Clark asked incredulously, feeling as though he was being picked up in some seedy bar rather than sitting in a campus coffee shop with one of his lecturers. 

"Yes. We can discuss other ways for you to gain extra credit." Mike leaned right forward. "I feel this meeting could have mutually beneficial results." Clark just sat stunned. His professor was hitting on him in broad daylight, practically saying that if Clark slept with him he would rig Clark's test scores, of course not in those words exactly but his body language and the tone of his voice along with his wording gave Clark the distinct impression that his first instincts had been correct and not just his ego talking. How the hell was he going to get out of this without seriously damaging his chances of passing this class? 

"Clark?" Clark turned around, dazed as he heard Lex say his name. What the hell was Lex doing on campus at quarter past one on a Friday afternoon? 

"Lex!" It didn't really matter what Lex was doing there, Clark didn't think he'd ever been more grateful to see him. "Have a seat." 

"Lex, what a surprise." Mike didn't sound even remotely surprised. "I haven't seen you for a long time." 

"It's been a while hasn't it? May I say you haven't changed a bit." Lex was smiling but Clark knew this smile as dangerous, it was one he had seen often when Lex had been dealing with his father. "I didn't realise that university policy had changed so much that you can socialise with students and actively solicit their, ah, shall we say company?" 

"I can only apologise, Lex. I didn't realise he was one of yours." Mike was smiling too, but there wasn't a single glimmer of humour in his eyes. Clark surmised that it must be a Princeton thing and instead tried to figure out what he'd managed to miss, because the conversation made no sense to him. He was Lex's what exactly? Mike was speaking again. "I guess I should have known. You always did like the pretty ones." 

"Not unlike yourself." Lex retorted brightly. "I take it everything's fine with the report, Clark?" 

"Umm, yeah, it seems like it." Clark replied, surprised to have been brought back into the conversation. 

"Well, I think we'll be going then." Lex stood, and pulled back Clark's chair for him as he stood, picking up Clark's backpack, which he'd slung carelessly under the table. "Don't worry about the private tuition, if Clark has any trouble with his report I can help him out." 

"That's fine then." Mike stood as well. "I'll see you in class, Clark. Lex, it was interesting to see you." 

"Always a pleasure, Mike." Lex was clearly being sarcastic. He turned and placed his hand on the small of Clark's back possessively, letting Clark lead the way out of the restaurant but not removing his hand until they reached Lex's car, a black Porsche which was predictably parked next to a large `no parking at anytime' sign. There was a parking attendant eyeing the car but he moved away quickly when he saw Lex, news had obviously travelled about how Lex felt about meter maids. 

They got into the car and Lex started it, setting off without saying a single word. They remained silent for the whole journey to the parking garage of Luthor Towers where Lex's penthouse was situated. They were in the express elevator going up to the penthouse and Clark was feeling distinctly nervous. Lex was behaving strangely, almost as if he was angry but Clark couldn't see what he could have done to rouse his friend's temper. Lex let Clark into the penthouse and then followed him in. Clark waited passively whilst Lex threw his keys into the dish on the side table, hung his coat in the closet and then stormed into the study with Clark on his heels. 

"Do you want to explain what the hell that was?" Lex asked, turning to Clark, his eyes flashing furiously. 

"I went to get my assignment. I told you yesterday." Clark said meekly. There was no talking to Lex when he got like this. 

"What you didn't tell me was that he was coming on to you!" Lex practically snarled. 

"I didn't realise." Clark protested. 

"Come on, Clark, even you're not that oblivious." Lex walked to the wet bar and poured himself a large amount of what Clark was sure was obscenely expensive scotch. 

"I thought I was imagining it. Until he invited me back to `his place' there was nothing I could really lay my finger on, just the way he looked at me and the tone of his voice." Clark said softly. 

"You should have told me." Lex was calming down now, his temper tantrums never lasted long, or at least the visible signs didn't. Lex could hold a grudge like a bitch. "You have no idea what he's like." 

"I can take care of myself, Lex." Clark placated softly. 

"In the physical sense yes. But he's manipulative. He'll mess with your emotions and your mind and I won't have it!" Lex was yelling again, and Clark had no idea where all this anger was coming from. He couldn't tell if it was due to the fact that Lex and Mike blatantly disliked each other or if it had something to do with him. "I won't have you hurt." Lex said in a softer tone, putting his glass on the desk. 

"I'm fine, Lex, really. Just a little shocked that he would behave like that." Clark stepped closer to Lex. 

"You don't understand, Clark." Lex sighed. 

"What don't I understand, Lex?" Clark asked. The kiss took him by surprise but he didn't move away from it. It was just a gentle press of lips really. A tentative experiment on Lex's part, to see how Clark would react to the kiss. 

"You don't understand how I feel about you." Lex whispered, looking Clark directly in the eye. This time it was Clark who kissed Lex. He'd kissed men before, done pretty much everything there was to do with men in fact, during his `lost summer'. But none of that compared to kissing Lex. 

"I think I do understand." Clark said as he finally released Lex's mouth. 

They stood and gazed at each other silently for a while. Lex, predictably, was the first to speak. 

"I'm going to have him killed." He announced nonchalantly, picking up his glass. 

"You are not." Clark laughed, exhaling a breath he hadn't even been aware of holding. 

"I am. I'm at least going to report him to the college dean." Lex replied calmly. 

"No, Lex. There's no need. Maybe he did us a favour." Clark smiled. Revenge was Lex's response to most things. 

"In what way?" Lex looked at Clark curiously. 

"Well, if he hadn't invited me out for coffee so that he could seduce me, you wouldn't have felt the need to come to my rescue as self-appointed protector of my modesty, which by the way I lost a long time ago, and it would have taken us both a lot longer to admit how we feel." Clark reasoned. 

"That doesn't balance out the fact that he was trying to blackmail you into bed with him in return for good test scores. I've been helping you with your homework for years and all I ever asked for in return was the truth." Lex was smiling now; although Clark had no doubt that he was still plotting some form of reprisal. 

"The truth's a high price to pay for someone like me." 

"Private tuition from a Luthor is expensive." 

"Can we stop talking and make out a little more?" Clark asked, advancing on Lex. 

"Luthor's do not make out." Lex replied haughtily. "We kiss, we seduce, we romance but we certainly do not make out." Clark pouted, pushing his lower lip out and making big eyes at Lex. "Although, since I'm the only Luthor left at this point, I can make the rules myself. Perhaps I could make an exception for you." 

* * *

Clark couldn't help but smile as he watched Lex ordering take out from his favourite Chinese restaurant, speaking in fluent Mandarin Chinese. 

"I think I remembered everything you asked for." He teased as he hung up the phone. "Honestly, I don't know where you put it." He ran his hand gently over Clark's taught abs. 

"I can't help it if sex makes me hungry." Clark pouted, receiving a kiss for his efforts. 

"Everything makes you hungry." Lex teased, smiling gently at Clark who was sprawled out over the bed, only a sheet covering that fact that he was naked. "Not that I'm complaining, but you might want to put some clothes on before the food gets here." 

"We can't eat in bed?" Clark asked pouting again. 

"No. There's only so far that pout will get you, Clark, and eating those greasy noodles you like in my bed is too far." Lex handed him his boxers. "Besides, can you imagine what your mother would say if she knew I let you eat food in bed instead of at the table?" 

"Yes." Clark replied, smirking as he pulled his boxers on. "She'd ask why I was in your bed in the first place." 

"Mmmm. I had wondered about that." Lex commented. "Do you intend to tell your parents?" 

"When exactly have you had time to wonder about that? If you were thinking about that while we were having sex I'm going to be really insulted." Clark pulled on his jeans and t-shirt, quickly. "And of course I'm going to tell them, Lex. I love you, this isn't just some phase or something." He sat down next to Lex and looked at him sincerely. "You know that don't you?" 

"Yes, I know it's not a phase, and I love you too. I just don't think your parents are going to react well to this. You are their only son." Lex sighed softly. 

"I don't think me being gay is going to be that much of a serious issue for them. I think when you know your son is an alien, all your beliefs about social norms kind of take a back seat." Clark said gently. "Besides, I think they already know." 

"About us?" Lex looked shocked. 

"No, about me liking guys. Well, liking you anyway. My mom's always asking me if I'm dating anyone new and no matter how she asks she never makes it gender specific and neither does my dad, and he's not politically correct enough to do that without a reason." 

"That's true." 

"Really, Lex, they'll be cool with it. My dad likes you now." Clark placated. 

"Your father tolerates me because I know your secret so he thinks it's better to have me on side." Lex disagreed. "I just think they might be a little shocked with this recent development." Lex walked into the open plan living room/ kitchen with Clark following close behind.' 

"Seriously, Lex, nothing surprises them anymore. Once you've had to deal with your son setting things on fire when he gets horny things like sexuality don't matter so much. I've never been normal. I don't think they ever expected me to have children, I don't even know if I can. My dad trusts you now and my mom's always trying to fatten you up which means she likes you too, and I definitely like you." Clark caught hold of Lex and pulled him close. "If anything they'll be relieved that it's you because you already know my secret, I'd have to tell anyone else and that would be another person for them to worry about betraying me." 

"I'd never betray you." Lex said softly, honesty shining in his eyes. 

"I know that. I've always known." Clark sighed. "But they worry. It's no wonder my dad has a heart problem, huh?" 

"I don't think you're to blame for that somehow." Lex replied, knowing that Clark still carried guilt about his father's heart problems. "He's doing much better now anyway." 

"Yeah, now that I'm living away from home and they can relax a bit." 

"Clark, self-pity really isn't a good look on you." Lex teased. 

"Everything's a good look on me!" Clark disagreed with a smirk. "Come on, I'll help you find the plates in the kitchen." 

"I know where the plates are kept!" 

* * *

Clark had never particularly looked forward to or enjoyed his bio-chemistry lectures but this was just a nightmare come true. He'd arrived late, just minutes before the lecture was due to start and so he'd been stuck with a seat at the front, rather than his usual space at the very back where he could sink low in his chair and avoid his lecturers `interactive' style of teaching. Today interactive obviously meant picking on Clark, as Professor Sollards had asked him three questions so far and they were only half way through. Luckily Lex had been helping him with this particular topic so he'd been able to answer two of them correctly. At least sitting so close to the door allowed him to escape quickly without having to pass the Professor. Clark watched the clock ticking slowly and wished for a fire drill or something, even considering setting fire to something with his heat vision so the sprinkler system would activate and they would all have to evacuate. He decided against it, however, figuring that Lex would find out somehow and be furious with him for `exposing' himself in such a `blatant manner', or at least he thought that was how Lex had phrased it last time he had used his powers irresponsibly. 

He sighed with relief as the Professor ended the lecture, and left quickly, Lex had promised to pick him up and take him for lunch, so hopefully the rest of the day would be better. It wasn't like it could get any worse. 

* * *

Today's lecture was a little better than the previous one. Clark had arrived with plenty of time to spare and found his usual seat in the back, with his bio-chem study partner Calvin, who sympathised with his trauma during the last lecture. 

"Dude, I totally couldn't believe it. He asked like 7 questions the whole lecture, and 5 of those he made you answer!" Calvin said. "I'm never getting stuck in the front of this class!" 

"Tell me about it. At least I managed to get some of them right." Clark sighed. 

"Yeah, what'd you do, stay up all night reading your text book?" Calvin laughed. 

"I got a little help from a friend." Clark smiled. Lunch with Lex had been great. It had been their first real date in public and Lex had held his hand across the table without seeming to care who saw, even kissing him goodbye when he dropped him back on campus so he could go back to work. 

"Wouldn't be the same friend who took you for lunch in that killer Porsche would it?" Calvin teased, taking Clark's blush to be a yes. "Where can I get a friend like that?" 

"I don't think there's that many around." Clark smiled, his blush fading. 

"Is the `friend' the reason Professor Sollards is pissed at you? I saw him come out of the lecture and he was looking at you guys and the car like he wanted to strangle someone." Calvin queried. 

"They went to college together for a while, but they didn't really get on." Clark replied, trying hard to keep Lex's name out of the conversation. 

"So it's nothing to do with you going for coffee with Sollards and your friend coming and dragging your ass out of there?" Calvin asked, smiling at Clark, who knew when he was caught. 

"Who told you that?" He asked quietly, as the Professor entered and began to sort out his notes. 

"Rory saw you in the coffee shop." 

"Rory?" Clark groaned. Rory was Calvin's boyfriend, and the biggest gossip queen on campus. 

"Don't worry, I told him to keep his mouth shut about it." Calvin soothed. "If you tell me all about it I'll make sure he keeps it shut too." 

"Ok, fine, after the lecture." Clark promised, as Professor Sollards began to speak. The lecture passed slowly, as always, and Clark was relieved when it finally ended. He and Calvin walked to the front of the lecture theatre, behind the throng of students rushing to get to their next class, or at least to get the hell away from this one. 

"Clark." Clark turned round, surprised to hear the professor calling him. "Could I have a word please?" 

"Umm, sure." Clark really couldn't bring himself to be rude to the man who marked his term papers, despite knowing what Lex would have to say on the matter. 

"I'll meet you in the quad." Calvin said, slipping out of the room quickly. 

"I just wanted to see how your extra credit report was coming along." Mike said, smiling charmingly at Clark. It was almost as though the previous Friday's events had never happened. 

"Umm, I've been doing a little reading for it, and planning how I want it to go." Clark replied, trying not to look obvious about the fact that he was moving back as Mike moved towards him. 

"That's good. You answered some difficult questions in the last lecture, it's obvious you've been studying." Mike replied, gently, like he was talking to a small child. "I also wanted to speak to you about the kind of company you've been keeping." Mike said, his voice taking on a more serious note. 

"Company? Oh, you mean Lex?" Clark almost laughed he was so startled. 

"Look, I know that when you leave a small town and come to a big city it's easy to get in with a bad crowd but you have to consider your parents feelings in this matter." Mike said smoothly. 

"I met Lex in the small town where I'm from and my parents know about our friendship. They like him." Clark replied defensively. 

"They obviously don't know the Lex Luthor I know." Mike replied slowly. The entire time they had been speaking Mike had been steadily advancing on Clark and now had him backed into a corner. "I'm aware of how charming he can seem. Are your parents aware of the nature of your relationship?" Clark blushed furiously. 

"I don't think that's any of your business." He replied hotly. 

"I'll take that as a no then shall I? And it is my business, lecturers are responsible for looking out for their student's welfare if a problem proves to interfere with their work." Mike smiled again, clearly not rebuffed by Clark's distinct lack of interest. 

"My relationship with Lex won't interfere with my work. If anything, he encourages me to work harder." Clark responded, trying to think of a way to get out of this situation. He could push Mike away, but the way he was feeling at the moment he might hurt him, and with the cameras that recorded every lecture theatre on the campus, super speed was not an option either. 

"I'm sure he does. I just think that you might perhaps want a more calming influence in your life." Mike took a step closer. "This situation could be very difficult, Clark, or you could make it very easy. I have no problem giving you a pass grade for this course, in return for a little compensation. I think you should think very carefully about your future choices, including those you make immediately." 

"I think that is good advice, which you are going to need to follow in the very near future, Professor Sollards." A male voice came from the doorway. Clark turned and saw Lex standing with the Professor Richardson, who was the head of the science faculty and also the one who had spoken, and two security guards. "Your behaviour has been wholly unacceptable. I think you should accompany me to my office for a chat about your `future choices' as you called them." Mike looked as shocked as Clark did. Lex looked amazingly calm and only someone who knew him as well as Clark would have been able to see the rage simmering just below the surface. 

"Of course." Mike stepped away from Clark, collected his briefcase and left the room with the head of faculty and the security staff. 

"How did you know that was going to happen?" Cark asked, rooted to the spot he was standing on, as Lex walked towards him. 

"I know what he's like." Lex replied, picking up Clark's backpack from where he'd left it, near the lectern. 

"How?" 

"I used to be the same, until I moved to Smallville my main aim was to get high, drunk and laid, and not always in that order." Lex stepped in front of Clark. "I knew he'd try something again, it was a matter of pride. Not only had you turned him down, but I won." 

"Won what?" Clark asked, not sure if he liked where this was going. 

"You." Lex kissed him softly. "Come on, your friend's waiting outside for you." 

"Oh, God." Clark had forgotten that he was supposed to meet Calvin in the quad; he'd been waiting fifteen minutes. "How am I going to explain this?" 

"You should probably tell the truth. It's going to be all over campus anyway, I would imagine, these things have a way of becoming public knowledge. You might want to tell Chloe too, and maybe...your parents as well." Lex hesitated slightly at the last suggestion, surprising Clark. Lex never hesitated. 

"Ok, I was going to tell them about us in the next few days anyway. I just wanted a little while to get my head round it myself before I had to explain it to other people." Clark replied, as they entered the quad and Calvin got up to greet them. 

"What happened?!" Calvin asked looking worried. "Professor Sollards just got escorted out of the lecture theatre by Professor Richardson and two security guys!" 

"He was behaving inappropriately." Lex replied, as Clark searched for something to say. He held his hand out to Calvin. "You must be Calvin, Clark's mentioned you. I'm Lex." Calvin shook his hand. 

"Yeah, that's me. He's mentioned you a lot too." Calvin grinned. "Behaving inappropriately? You certainly have a knack for attracting men in positions of authority." He teased Clark. "No offence." He said to Lex. 

"None taken." Lex replied, forcing Clark to smile. Like Lex would take offence at being described at someone in a position of authority over Clark. 

"How inappropriately was he behaving?" Calvin asked. 

"He said he'd pass me if I...well, you know." Clark blushed furiously. 

"Hey, guys!" Rory, Calvin's boyfriend arrived. "Did you hear about Professor Sollards? Wait, of course you did!" He kissed Calvin hello and turned to face Clark. Lex put his arm around Clark possessively as Rory kissed his cheek, and Clark couldn't help but smile at the move. "You should have kicked him in the balls, Clark." 

"I agree." Lex said, extending his hand to Rory. "You are?" 

"I am Rory Sefran-Jones and you are Lex Luthor." Rory shook Lex's hand and grinned. "I'm Calvin's boyfriend. Now that the introductions are over, dish the dirt, Clark!" 

"You probably know more about it than I do. He was coming on to me and Lex and Professor Richardson came and caught him." Clark sighed. This was definitely going to be all over campus. He was going to have to fill Chloe in really quickly or she'd kill him! 

"Can't have been the first time." Rory retorted, turning to Calvin and adding: "I told you I saw him hitting on Clark in the coffee shop." Rory turned back to Clark and Lex. "Apparently you're not the first student he's come on to either. Unfortunately not all of them had a night in a shining Aston Martin to rescue them and they fell for his dubious charms. Or they at least fell for the improvement in their grade point average." Rory informed him. 

"I'm not at all surprised. Clark, we really should get going, you need to make some calls and I have a few loose ends to tie up at work." Lex suggested. 

"Ok, I'll see you guys later." Clark said to Rory and Calvin. Lex and Clark walked towards his car of choice for the day, which was in fact an Aston Martin. As they sat in the afternoon traffic on their way to the penthouse, Clark couldn't help but question Lex about the day's events. 

"You told me you weren't going to report him." He said to Lex, a smile in his voice to show that he wasn't annoyed. 

"I lied. It's a good job really isn't it?" Lex teased. 

"I still don't know how you knew he'd choose today to hit on me!" 

"I told you, I know how his mind works." Lex replied softly. 

"What changed how your mind works?" Cark queried. 

"I grew up. My priorities change. I met some decent people like you and your folks." Lex replied as they stepped out of the car. Clark walked round to Lex's side, grinning stupidly. 

"Lex, did you just say folks?" He teased. 

"Maybe, but if you ever tell anyone, I'm going to dump you and run off with Rory!" Lex replied, straight faced, turning to walk towards the elevator. 

"You will not!" Clark argued, grabbing Lex and pulling him in for a possessive kiss. 

End 


End file.
